Late summer turns are always rewarding! Though the snowpack is down to only permanent snowfields and glaciers , the cooler mornings of late summer mean fall is on it’s way, and with the changing of the season comes the promise of fresh snows and a new winter. So, hoping for a fun day of late summer turns, I headed north on I-5 with Joe en route to Mt Hood. After a brief stop to pick up Ron, we arrived in the Timberline parking lot around 9:00 am and found Todd, who’d skied the night before and camped near the Zigzag Canyon to avoid the holiday crowds. After our gear was packed, we hit the trail with the intention of making turns on the Palmer snowfield and possibly beyond if conditions looked good. After the previous week’s rain, the air was clear for the first time in awhile…..

Before long we reached Silcox Hut, and stopped for a quick water break. Even though it was late summer, the day was warmer than the last several and the cold water tasted good. A minute or two later, our group was joined by Dan who’d stayed at the lodge the night before, skiing with Cindy on his birthday.

We arrived at the top of the Palmer a few minutes after 11:00 am, and soaked in the views of Mt Jefferson and the Three Sisters to the south. As usual, the views from the top of the Palmer didn’t disappoint. The north side of Jeff looked about usual for September, with a few spots that would make for good late summer turns….

Rather than head higher up on the White River snowfield, we made the decision to ride the Palmer and come back for a second lap to enjoy the smooth corn. All of us had to stop halfway down to rest our legs, a symptom of not skiing on a regular basis through the summer. At the bottom, Todd needed to head home, so we bid him farewell before heading back up.

The boot up the second time went much quicker for me, and I stopped to snap a few pictures here and there. When I arrived at the top, I saw some cool clouds over the mountain’s summit, and snapped a photo of Dan and Ron sitting on the rocks. That photos is shown below, as well as a picture of Dan and Joe on the boot track….

Run number two was equally as fun as number one, and I kept my camera in the bag until we were into the Mile Canyon. After catch a few photos, I handed it off to Joe who snapped a couple pictures of me enjoying some September turns….

Even though the spring and summer were remarkably dry, we were able to ski to within a few hundred yards of the parking lot, making for a quick hike out. On the trail, I snapped the below picture of Joe silhouetted against the sky with Mt Jefferson and Timberline Lodge in the background…..

Back at the car and in a comfortable pair of flip flops and shorts, we enjoyed one of Ron’s IPA’s, along with some fresh chips and salsa from my garden. Yes, late summer turns are great, and I’m looking forward to a good fall and powder filled winter!

“Conditions might not be the best, but they’re pretty good, and it is August” Dan said to me as we hiked up the Zigzag Glacier. If there’s one thing that defines summer snowboarding for me, it would have to be that quote. Such was the case this year as Dan and I headed up to Mt Hood in search of summer turns on the Zigzag Glacier. With most of this season’s modest snowpack having long since melted from Oregon’s volcanoes, we were hopeful the Zigzag would still be in condition for turns. If not, the Palmer snowfield would have to serve as an ample backup. Arriving in the parking lot around 8:30 am, we quickly loaded our packs and hit the trail, electing to leave skins behind and travel light. The mountain looked like it usually does in August, with the Mile Canyon still in good shape for turns nearly down to the parking lot….

Within thirty minutes we exited the ski area and headed west, winding our way through gullies and open scree, eventually linking up with some remaining snow patches that provided easier travel to the higher elevations. The Zigzag Glacier itself was a bit runneled and suncupped, but looked like it would ski without too much trouble, and as Dan reminded me, “it is August.” As usual when hiking up the Zigzag, Illumination Saddle looks like you can reach out and touch it, but getting there always seems to take longer than it should. Eventually, we reached the saddle and enjoyed the excellent views down onto the Reid Glacier.

Gazing over at a large rock perched above the Saddle, Dan noted he couldn’t believe it was still there, having seen it last year and thinking by now it would have surely fallen. After enjoying the views and eating a quick snack, we shouldered our packs and prepared to ride some August corn. Before we strapped into our gear, I snapped the below photo of Dan looking over the Zigzag Glacier…..

Dropping off the Saddle, the bumps were pretty rough, but not as big as the previous September. We picked a line to the riders right of the glacier, which seemed to have the smoothest snow. Though a bit bumpy, the snow actually skied pretty good, and we were stoked to be enjoying good turns in August….

Partway down the glacier, Dan grabbed my new Canon 6d from me and snapped a series of shots of some August snowboarding action, including the photo below…….

We skied down the Ziggy to nearly the top of the Mississippi Head Cliffs, stopping just above them to eat lunch and enjoy a well earned beer. It was starting to get warm as we headed back up, and both of us were a bit worried it may thunderstorm as the clouds started to build over Mt Hood’s summit……

The weather held off and eventually, after a hot and sweaty bootpack back up to over 9000 feet, we traversed the Zigzag back over towards the Palmer snowfield. Booting the last little bit to the top of the Palmer, we arrived just as Patrol was heading down for sweep about 3:00 pm. A minute or so later, we met a couple of other turns-all-yearer’s and chatted for a bit. Sitting at the top of the Palmer with nobody around in the middle of summer is something I always look forward to. Before long, we strapped into our gear and prepared to shred the Palmer…..

Riding the Palmer with nobody around is even better than chilling at the top with nobody in sight! Being able to open it up and rip as fast as you want is damn fun! We chose the line right down the center, just to the right of the public lane. The cool thing about riding after the snowfield is closed is that there aren’t any gates or fences dictating where you can ride….

After a brief stop at the Palmer mid-station to rest tired legs, we continued down the rest of the canyon, finding great snow all the way down. Here’s a shot of Dan cruising down the lower Palmer canyon….

The lower Mile was excellent cruising, and we skied to within a few hundred feet of the parking lot. A celebratory Oakshire IPA hit the spot after it was all said and done, and it’s always a good feeling tip back a beer in the summer sun after a good day of riding! Reflecting back on the day, it may not have been the most epic conditions, but it was indeed pretty sweet! Here’s a parting shot from the day of Dan enjoying some turns on the Zigzag!

The Wy’East face is a Mt Hood classic. Towering high above the slopes of the Mt Hood Meadows ski area, the line beckons to any rider who’s ever looked at it. Averaging 40 plus degrees for the first thousand feet, and over 30 degrees for the next thousand, it’s sustained pitch makes it one of the better lines on Mt Hood and one I’d been wanting to visit. And, with a ridiculously busy weekend and coming work week ahead of me, I was in need of a day off to free my mind and couldn’t think of a finer place to visit. My buddy Joe was up for the trip, and we made plans to head up on Thursday evening and camp near the Meadows ski area gate. After picking up Joe in Albany, we made quick time up the freeway to Government Camp. Looking at the mountain from Govy, I could tell quite a bit of snow had melted in the six days since I’d been there for the nuts and bolts clinic at Timberline. Shortly thereafter, we pulled into the Meadows parking lot, scoped out our climbing line for the following morning and drooled over the Wy’East. The face appeared to in pristine condition, though the Newton Clark headwall did show evidence of some recent wet slide activity. Car camping for the evening was pretty sweet and a nice change of pace from lugging an overnight pack somewhere for several miles. After dinner, I busted out the tripod and snapped a few photos of the mountain in the evening alpenglow…..

I slept good during the night, which was nice since our 3:00 am wake up call was pretty early. After a quick breakfast, Joe and I headed up the hill at our planned time of 4:00 am. We were able to skin on continuous snow from the base area and it was light enough to skin without the headlamps by 4:15. As we worked our way towards the top of the Cascade lift, the the sun began rising from the east….

Shortly after we cruised past the top of the Cascade terminal, the Wy’East came into view and we got some good looks at the face. Nearly as impressive was looking to the south and seeing Mt Jefferson, Middle Sister, North Sister and Broken Top looming in the morning rays. The view down onto the White River Glacier was pretty nice from the east side as well.

Around 8000 feet the snowpack consisted of a mix of new mushy snow over old firm snow, ranging in depth from 3-12 inches depending upon aspect. Skinning was a breeze and we made good time climbing up. Looking up at the Wy’East, the slope was a blank canvas with the blanket of fresh snow, with no evidence of recent tracks, bootpacks, etc. Joe and I were a bit worried about the possibility of a wet slide, but pressed on as the snow was holding up fine down lower and agreed to assess the conditions as we gained elevation.

Looking out over the Newton Clark glacier and beyond, I could see the mighty Columbia River winding along it’s path on the horizon, illuminated by the morning sun. Multiple thoughts crossed my mind as I gazed out at the river, including what an adventure it must have been for the pioneers that rafted the river from The Dalles to Portland en route on the Oregon Trail. It also made me reminisce of numerous September backcountry bowhunting adventures with my father, where I’d gaze up at the snow covered slopes of the Newton Clark and Wy’East face while driving along I-84 and imagine climbing up for late season turns.

After a quick 10 minute break for lunch, we continued upward. The wind had been coming and going all day, and it was warm when there wasn’t any, cool when there was and irritating when it was gusting. A few of the gusts were sustained for a couple of minutes and pushing 30 miles per hour. We skinned for as long as we could, wanting to avoid booting until it was absolutely necessary.

Above the last rock patch we switched to booting where the slope transitioned to a steeper angle. The first 500 feet or so was easy booting, but the last several hundred feet to the summit ridge was over softened and very taxing. We topped out near 10,700 feet and both of us were looking forward to the views down into the crater from above. It was not to be however, since in the last 2o minutes or so prior to reaching the summit ridge a large lenticular cloud was forming which completed blocked the views to the south and west. Standing at the summit ridge for several minutes with the wind was blowing 30 plus miles per hour, it was evident the sky wasn’t going to clear up anytime soon, so we retreated to ride the Wy’East face while the visibility was still good.

I dropped in first while Joe spotted from above, and made turns a a few hundred feet down the steep slope. Though soft, the snow skied very well and consistently. I stopped at the top of a rock feature and snapped some photos of Joe as he came down and then by me…

Standing at the top of the rock features, we chose to ski through to the left, making turns down the perfect pitch. I waited until Joe was down past the steeper section and at a safe place before heading down. The slope was so nice I opened it up a bit and ripped down making wide sweeping turns, covering 800 feet or so in no time at all.

We took turns with the camera, leap frogging each other down the slope and snapping pics along the way. Lower down the slope mellowed a bit and became a bit stickier but was still good for ripping turns. I found a place to setup and snap a couple shots of Joe skiing with the White River Canyon and Mt Jefferson in the background…

After skiing the Wy’East proper, we crossed the rock ridge and scoped out options for skiing into the Superbowl and upper Heather Canyon. The snow in upper Superbowl looked pretty nice, but lower down conditions appeared to deteriorate. With the warm temperatures of the day, we decided to ski the upper half of the bowl and then traverse out and back to the ski area. Joe dropped in and made effortless turns down the smooth snow….

The upper part of Superbowl skied nice as expected, and it was really tempting to drop all the way down. In fact, at one point we reconsidered it and almost did. The slope had it all, but the snow conditions lower down just weren’t quite what we were looking for so the lower half of the bowl would have to wait for another day. After traversing over to where we could see the top of the Cascade lift, a few rock portages were necessary before we got to the large snowfield above the ski area. The ski down through the resort was on dirty snow, but still fun and beat hiking for sure! We were able to link snow patches near the bottom and ride all the way to the parking lot, making for a top to bottom ski of 5500 feet of turns! Not bad for June!

Back at the car, we aired out our gear, changed into shorts and flip flops and grabbed a well-earned ice cold beer. Looking back up at our route, the summit was still engulfed in the lenticular cloud, proving our decision to descend when we did to be a good one. Driving home on Highway 35, the Wy’East came into view and both Joe and I were stoked to see what we’d just skied. Given all the Wy’East has to offer – big vertical, steep slopes, objective dangers (rockfall, avalanche potential, etc.) and awesome scenery, I’d say it’s definitely a Mt Hood classic!